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Saoirse Ronan carries a movie on her tiny shoulders.

DON’T mention the Oscars. As the buzz continues to grow around the performance of Saoirse Ronan, the Irish teenager is coy about her chances of scoring an Academy Award nomination.

”I’m not thinking about awards,” she says, unconvincingly, in a thick Irish brogue. ”If it happens, wonderful. If not, it’s not a big deal.”

Saoirse (pronounced Sir-sha) is just 15 and forms the heart and soul of The Lovely Bones, director Peter Jackson’s vastly ambitious drama.

Previously best known for her work as a conspiring young sister opposite Keira Knightley in Atonement, Ronan virtually anchors The Lovely Bones as lead actor and narrator.

She plays Susie Salmon, a 14-year-old raped and murdered by a neighbour. There are several chilling scenes with Susie’s murderer, played by Stanley Tucci. And without crossing any lines, Jackson ensures the film has a creepy element.

Ronan admits that before reading the script and meeting Jackson, her parents were worried by her taking on such a role.

”But we were completely assured we were in safe hands,” she says. ”I felt very safe and comfortable.”

Working with co-stars of the calibre of Susan Sarandon and Tucci, Ronan was able to absorb plenty of lessons about her craft. Yet watching Tucci transform into a cold-blooded killer was something else.

”It was scary to see how Stanley could change from somebody who was funny, kind and gentle to a murderer,” she says. ”It was amazing to see the transformation.”

The shoot was gruelling for Ronan, who was 13 when filming began in 2007. ”I felt there was a bit of pressure on me,” she says. ”It was Susie Salmon, so you feel obliged to get her right.”

Ronan says she declined to read the Alice Sebold novel on which the film was based until she finished filming because she wanted to focus on the script version of the story.

”I didn’t think the two were very different,” she says. ”They kept the most important things and the things that made the story special.”

Ronan confirms Jackson’s reputation as a stickler during shoots is mostly true. ”He’s a bit of a perfectionist,” she says, playfully. ”It was great seeing how he worked and what he got out of his actors.”

As for the Oscars, did she get much experience from her role in previous nominee Atonement? ”Just a little bit. I’m glad I didn’t have to do all of this when I was younger.”